GyroTrac is the world’s leading manufacturer of tracked, tree mulching machines used in all types of land clearing and maintenance. Applications include forestry, site prep, pipelines, power lines, roads, highways, railroads, fence and survey lines, seismic survey lines, hunting and shooting lanes, and much more. GyroTrac produces the world

Results from test sites in Alberta show that implementing a rehabilitation design developed by the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) for mountain pine beetle infected stands with over 50 per cent mortality could deliver multiple benefits.

“We have been able to capture some value from these sites, tentatively reduce the pest and fire risk, and enhance stands to put them back on a productive trajectory to meet future objectives of the forest industry,” says Derek Sidders, CWFC Prairie Regional Co-ordinator and Program Manager.

With support from the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) Mountain Pine Beetle Rehabilitation Program, CWFC has partnered with Canfor, Spectrum Resources and University of Alberta researchers on an operational trial aimed at investigating the most effective way to recover value and rehabilitate beetle-affected small stem lodgepole pine mixed stands with over 50 per cent mortality. Forest companies avoid harvesting these sites because they have minimal conventional commercial value. However, left unchecked, they could have a significant impact on the future health and production of the commercial forest. Therefore, there is a need to develop an effective way to rehabilitate these sites.

This development project is taking place on forest blocks totaling approximately 450 hectares north of Grande Prairie. A CWFC-designed rehabilitation system, involving innovative harvesting and regeneration methods, is being deployed.

Sidders describes the harvest prescription as a full tree systematic harvesting pattern, using five metre wide parallel machine corridors centered at 20 metre intervals with landings servicing two to three machine corridors. Between each machine corridor is a 15 metre selection strip, which in total occupy about 75 per cent of the treatment area. Selection from within this area removes active attack trees, trees with commercial product potential and other stems impacting stand health and vigor.

He adds that green active-attacked, red-impacted, and green lodgepole pine trees greater than 20 centimetres in diameter or in dense patches are being recovered from the retention strips. White spruce and aspen are only being harvested from within the machine corridors and will be sorted for sawlog, OSB or biomass production.

If there are stands of dense, green, non-attacked lodgepole pine within the retention strips, the trees are spaced to about three metres between boles.

The completed area, consisting of multiple development and research test sites, will be harvested by the end of March, with site prep and planting taking place this spring and summer.

“We’ve found so far that the harvesting prescription is effective in meeting the objectives of the project and program and is reasonably easy to deploy operationally,” says Sidders.

Once operator training on the unique pattern was completed, the feller bunchers harvested down the machine corridor and back out to the landing, creating bunches from the machine corridor and selected wood from the retention strips. All bunches face the landing and are accessible from the machine corridor. Skidders backed down the machine corridors and grabbed bunches of green, red, and grey lodgepole pine, white spruce and aspen, sorting them into various decks at the landing. The material is then processed, based on the demand for the various products.

The biomass gathered from these sites is being mulched, chipped and compress-baled using a Gyro-Trac Biomass Baling System (BBS) unit, creating 700 to 1,000 kilogram bales for sale to the bioenergy or oil and gas sectors. The BBS unit is owned and operated by Hedgeco Environmental Management LTD, of Drayton Valley (see pic above).

“Throughout all these operations, time and motion studies are being completed by the CWFC, as well as very detailed time and motions studies on the biomass baler by FPInnovations,” says Sidders.

The treated sites and landing areas are being site prepped for replanting using an excavator mounted mixing or mounding attachment to create suitable micro-sites. Sites will be replanted with white spruce and lodgepole pine. CWFC and University of Alberta researchers will monitor the research sites on an ongoing basis.

Gyro-Trac is proud to announce that Biomass Baling System (“BBS”) has arrived in Western Canada and is operating in Alberta.

The BBS arrived in mid-January and is presently working on a jobsite north of Grande Prairie. Daniel Gaudreault, Gyro-Trac’s owner and founder, is currently in Alberta overseeing the introduction of the new BBS, and Gyro-Trac will continue to be available to support this unit through hands-on training and service.

Regarding the Biomass Market, Gyro-Trac is working closely with Tim Keddy of the Department on Natural Resources of Canada as well as the Environmental and Sustainable Resources, private contractors and other parties. The Canadian Biomass Market has huge potential for growth based on existence of biomass feedstock resources and the push to grow the Biomass Industry.

Gyro-Trac is also excited to announce that it has opened a sales office in Edmonton.
You can contact us locally by calling (780) 719- 9743.
Please reach out to us to learn about the BBS and exciting new developments to other Gyro-Trac’s products.

We look forward to speaking with you and gladly answering any questions you may have about Gyro-Trac. We are also available to schedule demonstrations of the new BBS.

Daniel Gaudreault, Francois Gaudreault and I will be available in Alberta at various times over the next year or so.

Gyro-Trac anticipates opening a retail store with service, part and sales within approximately the next 12-18 months so that we can offer increased support and service our loyal customers in Western Canada.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at the numbers and email listed below.

By Tony Kryzanowski

Rather than spewing mulch on the ground, the Gyro-Trac BBS system gathers it and compresses it into a round bale ready for shipment.

Mulching and vegetation control contractors, equipment dealers, forestry representatives, government representatives, and scientists were recently treated to the first of a series of biomass harvesting and collection system demonstrations hosted by the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC).

The first demonstration was the patent-pending, Gyro-Trac Bio-Energy Biomass System (BBS) all-in-one wood fibre mulching and baling system.

Tim Keddy, CWFC Wood Fibre Development Specialist, says the demonstrations of the Gyro-Trac BBS system—conducted at various locations from Ontario to Alberta—were meant to introduce individuals to the type of biomass harvesting and collection systems that are available.

Three other systems, the Fecon Bio-Harvester, the AAFC biomass harvester prototype and the Anderson Bio-Baler, will also be demonstrated at various locations throughout Canada this summer. These demonstrations are part of CWFC’s program to develop and evaluate different mid-supply chain options for harvesting and delivery of woody biomass in Canada.

“We’re showing what different options are available at demonstrations throughout Canada and hoping that industry will find a system that works for them and begin to apply it commercially,” Keddy said to the group gathered at a demonstration held at the University of Alberta Ellerslie Research Station in Edmonton.

Wayne Gradwell, Brushing Supervisor with ACE Vegetative Service, says they already use a Gyro-Trac mulcher in their business. The company’s interest in attending the demonstration of the Gyro-Trac BBS system was to investigate how the unit collected, processed and packaged the material once it was mulched.

“A lot of our clients are requesting that we remove the mulch from control sites and so what we are doing right now is burning it on the right-of-way or taking it to a different facility or location,” says Gradwell. “So this way if it is baled, there is less volume to transport and it doesn’t require the use of other equipment for the baling.”

He adds that the equipment did work as advertised, with the only caveat being that he would like to see a bit more speed in the production of each round bale. However, he says if ACE Vegetation Service is able to earn $50 from the sale of each 800 – 1000 kilogram bale, then it would make the effort financially worthwhile. While the technology works, he says it still remains to be seen where markets can be developed for the bales once they are produced.

The Gyro-Trac head office is located in Summerville, South Carolina, although the technology was developed in Quebec. The company has five units that have been working in Florida for about a year. It was the crew from the company operating the equipment in Florida, Oliver’s Bush Hogging, who toured with the Gyro-Trac 270 HP BBS unit across Canada; they had experience working with the equipment in a commercial application and could answer questions from demonstration attendees. Gyro-Trac also produces a 350 HP BBS system. The prime mover and baling unit can be purchased as a package or separately.

The unit was put to work in a variety of environments during its tour, processing both hardwood and softwood as well as wood infected with the mountain pine beetle.

What’s different about the Gyro-Trac BBS system vs. its standard mulcher is that the cutting head shoots the mulch to a conveyor, instead of on to the ground. The conveyed mulch is processed through a chipper that further reduces the material to between 3” and 4” in diameter before it collects in the BBS tensioning and compacting round baling unit.

The system can process any size diameter wood and in fact works most productively on larger logs and trees because it can process more wood fibre and create more bales without moving. Each unit requires about one hour of maintenance per shift, and in Florida they were able to produce one bale every six minutes on average. Because the mulch is compacted into 800 – 1000 kilogram bales, it adds about 30 per cent more capacity per load when transported vs. non-baled mulch.

Rather than spewing mulch on the ground, the Gyro-Trac BBS system gathers it and compresses it into a round bale ready for shipment.

Be one of the first to seeGyro-Trac’sBio-Energy BalingSystem in operationin a live demo!

It is our great pleasure to inform you that our new patent pending Bio-Energy Baling System (BBS) is ready for your inspection!

We believe you will be impressed by some of our latest innovations in design and invite you to our live demo!

With this BBS, Gyro-Trac has taken the next step in revolutionizing the mulching industry. With just one machine and one operator you can now cut, resize, collect, and bale mulch for Woody Biomass.
In cooperation with the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, there are four (4) site locations throughout Canada to view our BBS in action:
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Gyro-Trac would like to re-introduce and welcome Tim Bush back to the Gyro-Trac Team!

Tim re-joined Gyro-Trac in August 2013 as Sales Manager for Outside Sales (Wholegoods/Domestic and International). Tim originally worked with Gyro-Trac between 2002 and 2005, as an Outside Sales Rep for Equipment and, later, Parts and also as the Sales Manager.

Tim tells a little story about the first time he saw a Gyro-Trac Brushcutter in action. In the early 2000’s, Tim visited Gyro-Trac and was treated to a brief demonstration of the GT-18. The Brushcutter demo made a lasting impression on Tim, and to this day, he swears that he did not sleep for two nights because he couldn’t stop thinking about selling Gyro-Trac mulchers and becoming a part of the Gyro-Trac Team. Tim insists this is a TRUE STORY, and will be happy to recount it for you anytime!

While Tim is the current “new guy” at Gyro-Trac, he is not in unknown territory. Tim has been an owner and operator of Gyro-Trac Brushcutters and a successful business man in his own right. In 2005, Tim purchased a GT-10 and struck out in the Land Clearing and Mulching business with his own company Bush Bros. Mulching and Clearing which successfully operated in Georgia and northern Florida from 2005 until 2008. The economy took its toll on the land clearing industry and Bush Bros. closed in 2008. From there, Tim went to work as an outside sales rep covering two territories for a National MRO Supplier and created growth of 52% in the first 9 months. Quickly promoted to an Area Manager covering a portion of three states, he continued to consistently grow that business year after year. Tim brings this wealth of experience with him as he returns to Gyro-Trac.

Tim knows Gyro-Trac, but because he was a Gyro-Trac customer, he also knows that side of the story. He has turned the wrench, changed the filters, and sharpened the teeth at the end of a long day in the field.

Gyro-Trac Brushcutters have evolved between the mulcher Tim first saw to the GT-25XP mulcher and cutterhead attachments available now. But the awe-inspiring performance of Gyro-Trac mulching equipment has not changed. If anything, it is even more impressive as it continues to excel in right of way maintenance, seismic exploration, oil and gas line maintenance and other general land clearing and mulching. Gyro-Trac’s and the industry’s future is bright and strong. This bright future combined with Gyro-Trac’s introduction of biomass collection innovations like the Biomass Baling System make Tim’s enthusiasm today even greater than it was a decade ago.

Gyro-Trac is excited to have Tim back on board bringing with him ideas and experiences that he has acquired through a lifetime of Sales and being a Business Owner of Gyro-Trac mulching equipment, as well as his entrepreneurial spirit, enthusiasm and energy.

The park is a passive, low impact park with 2.4 miles of walking trails. The trails skirt the abundant wetlands acreage on the site and run along both sides of a tidal canal within the park boundary. There is a parking area at the intersection of Bacon’s Bridge Road and Ashley River Road with parking for over 50 vehicles. The parking area is a pervious surface to minimize stormwater quality impacts.

There are 2 covered picnic shelters as well as a covered and screened outdoor classroom with tables and seating for 24 persons in each. Phase II of the park with include an additional parking area along Bacon’s Bridge road near the Ashley River as well as a launch ramp for small watercraft and fishing piers/walkways along the riverfront.

A portion of the trails and a walkway bridge were constructed by students from the National Honor Society at Ashley Ridge High School. Some of the materials for this work were donated by SCANA Corporation. GyroTrac contributed a major amount of the work to clear approximately 1.8 miles of the trail system. Phase I of the park should be complete by mid-September 2011